Barrel



y 18, 1965 M. E. DOLE 3,184,093

' BARREL Filed June 29, 1962 INVENTOR.

MARION E. DOLE OLSEN mo STEPHENSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent M 3,184,093 BARREL Marion E. Dole, Beatrice, Nehru, assignor to Hoover Ball and Bearing Company, Saline, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed June 29, 1962, Ser. No. 20.6,28i) 1 Claim. (Cl. 220-) This invention relates generally to containers and more particularly .to an improved beer barrel.

To facilitate handling, a beer barrel is usually provided with a pair of external rolling rings which extend circumferentially about the barrel so that it can be rolled on the rings. In a single wall barrel the provision of these rings necessitates the formation of circumferential grooves on the inner surface of the barrel. Also, beer barrels are conventionally provided with a side wall bung opening in which a frusto-conical bung or stopper is driven to close the barrel after it has been filled. It is desirable, therefore, in barrels of this type, to form the barrel in the area of the bung opening so that when the bung is driven into the opening there is no danger of de forming or mutilating the barrel; and to shape the barrel so that the entire liquid contents of the barrel can be drained out of the grooves through the bung opening to positively insure removal of all of the .beer from the barrel and to insure against any cleaning solution remaining in the barrel at the time the barrel is filled with beer. It is also desirable, in a barrel of this type, to accomplish these objectives economically and without any welds in the area of the bung opening, since these welds are difiicult to keep clean and are subject to coming loose. It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an im proved beer barrel which includes a solid block inserted in the side wall thereof and which is for-med with an increased thickness section in which the bung opening is formed and with sloping inner surface portions which direct liquid from the grooves toward the bung opening.

Further objects, features and advantages of this inven tion will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of three of the component parts of the barrel of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the solid block which is assembled with the components illustrated in FIGURE 1 to form the barrel of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational View of the barrel of this invention, with some parts broken away and other parts shown in section for the purpose of clarity;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the barrel of this invention looking ubstantially along the line 4-4- in FIG. 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the barrel of this invention, as seen from substantially the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

With reference to the drawing, the barrel of this invention, indicated generally at in FIG. 3, is preferably formed of a lightweight metal such as aluminum and is illustrated as including a pair of generally cup-shape end sections 12 and 14 and a center section 16 which includes a shaped block 13 formed with a tapered bung opening 20. The barrel end section 12 is formed at one end with an irregularly shaped end wall 22 having suitable tapping means formed therein which includes a tapped bushing 24. The opposite end of the end section 12 is open and has a continuous peripheral edge 26, hereinafter referred to as the open edge.

The end section 14 likewise has an end wall 28 at one end and is open at the opposite end and has a continuous peripheral edge 30, hereinafter referred to as the open edge, which is of the same circumference as the open edge 26 on the end section 12.

hlhifihi Fatented May 18, 1965 The center section consists of an arcuate member or plate 32 which has its ends 34 and 36 disposed on an arc of the same radius as the radius of the open edges 26 and of the end sections 12 and 14, respectively. The plate 32 is of a circumferential length less than the length of the open edges 26 and 30 so that the plate 32 has a pair of terminal edges 38 which are spaced apart. The edges 38 are substantially parallel and are also substantially normal to the planes of the open edges 26 and 30. The plate 32 is formed with a pair of rolling projections 40 and 42 which are spaced apart in a direction axially of the barrel 1t and extend circumferentially of the plate 32. Each projection 4i} and 42 projects radially outwardly of the plate 32 and as an incident to the formation of the rolling projections 40 and 42 corresponding grooves 44 and as are formed on the inner surface of the plate 32.

The center barrel section 16 also includes a shaped block 48 (FIG. 2), which is an aluminum forging when the barrel 10 is constructed of aluminum. The block 48 has a pair of arcuate ends 59 and 52 and a pair of substantially parallel edges 54 which are of a length corresponding to the length of the edges .38 on the center section plate 32. The block 48 is formed with a pair of rolling projections 56 and 58 which are of an external shape in cross section corresponding to the external cross sectional shape of the rolling projections 4-4 and 46 on the plate .16. An increased thickness section so of the block 48 extends between the rolling projections 56 and 58 and is disposed substantially midway between the block edges 54. The bung opening Zii is formed in the increased thickness section 60.

The inner surface of the block 48 is formed with a pair of identical grooves 62 and 64 which are radially aligned with the rolling projections 56 and 58. The groove 62 is intersected and interrupted intermediate its ends by an inclined surface 66 which slopes in a direction toward the bung opening '20, and the groove 64 is similarly intersected and interrupted by an inclined surface 68 which slopes from the opposite side toward the bung opening 29.

In the assembly of the barrel 10, the end sections 12 and 14 are arranged so that their open edges 26 and 30 are in a spaced facing relation and are in substantially parallel planes, and the center section plate 32 is disposed between the open edges 26 and 30 so that the end 34 of the plate 32 engages the edge 26 and the end 36 of the plate 32 engages the edge 39. Welding 70 is then utilized to weld the open edge 26 to the plate end 34 and welding 72 is utilized to similarly secure the open edge 30 to the plate end 36. At this stage in the assembly of the barrel 1%, the barrel is provided with an opening, indicated at '74 in FIG. 1, in the barrel side wall which is substantially rectangular in plan view, and this opening 7 corresponds in size substantially to the size of the block 48 which is likewise rectangular in plan as shown in FIG. 3. The block 48 is then positioned in the opening 74 so that the rolling projections 56 and 58 on the block 48 line up with the rolling projections 46 and 42 on the center section plate 32. The edges 54 of the block 48 are then secured, by welding 76, to the edges 38 of the plate 16, and the ends 59 and 52 of the block 48 are secured, by welding 73 and 81 respectively, to the open edges 26 and 30, respectively, so as to close the opening 74.

It can thus'be seen that in the assembled barrel 19, the rolling projections 56 and 58 cooperate with the projections 40 and 42 so as to form rolling rings which extend circumferentially about the center section 16 of the barrel 110. When the barrel is positioned so that the bung opening 2i) is on the bottom side of the barrel, as indicated in FIG. 5, any fluid, such as cleaning fluid which may be in the grooves 44 and 46 during cleaning of the barrel 10, flows downwardly in the grooves 44 and 46 into the grooves 62 and 64 and then onto the surfaces 66 and 68 for flow out of the barrel through the bung opening 20. As a result no fluid can be trapped in the barrel 1%).

From the above description it is seen that this invention provides a beer barrel in which a solid block 48 is inserted in a side wall of thebarrel. This solid block 48 has the bung opening 26 formed in an increased thickness section 60 thereof so that the area of the barrel around the bung opening 20 is of sufficient strength to withstand the forces applied thereto during repeated insertions of bungs without any deformation or distortion of the barrel.

as es By virtue of the inclusion of the solid block 48, the bung opening 20'can be formed therein so that the wall thereof communicates directly with the barrel interior without the requirement of any welding of any parts in the area of the bung opening 20. This is advantageous from the standpoint of the service life of the barrel and from the standpoint of cleanliness since the wall of the bung opening 24 can be formed and maintained of a desired smooth finish.

It will be understood that the barrel which is herein disclosed and described is presented for purposes of ex: planation and illustration and is not intended to indicate limits of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1 V In a barrel having a pair of generally cup-shape end sections arranged in a spaced apart facing relation, an arcuate center member secured at its ends and extending between said end sections, said center member having a pair of spaced-apart edges which define with said end sections an opening in a side wall of said barrel, said center member having a pair of spaced circumferentially extending rolling projections formed therein which project radially outwardly of said center member and form circumierentially extending grooves on the inner surface thereof,

a shaped block fitted in said side wall opening and secured at its edges to the edges of said center member and to said end sections, said block having its outer surface shaped to form spaced rolling projections corresponding substantially in external cross sectional shape to the shape of the projections on said center member and circumferentially aligned therewith so as to form therewith spaced annular rolling rings on said barrel, said block having an increased thickness section for-med substantially centrally thereof and extending between the rolling projections 7 formed thereon, said block having a bung opening formed insm'd increased thickness section and having the inner surface thereof shaped so that it is provided with grooves which communicate with the grooves in said center member and inclined surface portions which intersect and interrupt the grooves in said block and slope toward said opening from opposite sides thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/45 Kuhn 113-420 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 825,092 12/59 Great Britain.

1,045,893 12/58 Germany.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, FRANKLIN T. GARRETT,

Examiners. 

